3 Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

If you’re convinced that social media can definitely add to your bottom line, then you might wonder how you can use social media most effectively. Is there a wrong way to approach your social media marketing?

The problem for most business people and marketers is that they think of social media in terms of traditional advertising. But Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google + are all visitor centric, interactive media. That means that for businesses and marketers to leverage social media, they’ll have to change their thinking about advertising.

To help you take make the right decisions in your social media marketing campaigns, here are 3 social media marketing mistakes to avoid…

Mistake #1: Orchestrating Social Media Campaigns from the Top Down

What deals can we push out into our marketplace that will get prospects to call or stop by our store? Should we blast our messages on TV, radio, and/or print? How can we use a promotional campaign to drive prospects to buy?

This is advertising from the business’s perspective, or a top down approach. It's getting your sales messages out by means of controlled media to a limited audience.

But social media’s power lies in people sharing your message to THEIR audiences. Think of it this way. Say you only have 300 or 400 Likes on your business page. With traditional advertising, you’d think that you must reach just those followers. But if you publish content that your followers share with their audiences, your message can reach thousands.

And it’s more effective than reaching the multitude on a TV ad because people don’t share ads, they share information they think is valuable. So keep in mind the power of your followers and connections and produce content that they are more likely to share.

Mistake #2: Not Publishing Valuable Content on Social Media

If you are looking to social media for organic, free attention, you must think about delivering value to your audience. So, be the first with news about something happening in your industry that affects your customers. Offer tips that make people’s lives better or improves their performance at work. Interview experts in your field. Link to thought leaders in your industry.

Be entertaining, weird, or funny. Try to keep it in your field of interest but these are the posts that really get shared. Thing is, make the content you publish sharable. Be creative and expand your mind a little and you’ll get shares.

Mistake #3: Being the Uncharitable Mr. Scrooge

Many business owners are not very generous with what they’ve learned over the years. They like to keep their knowledge close to the vest. Heaven forbid the soft touch and the competition learning their secrets.

Thing is, social media is all about sharing. Instead of keeping it all to yourself, share your knowledge with others. Hey, don’t worry, most of what you know is already out there anyways. Just Google it! So you might as well be the one people look to as an authority, not your competition.

And, share other people’s blog posts and articles, too. If you think they will help your audience, like them or add a comment and share to your connections and followers. This is a different mindset than what most of us are used to, but it’s the way of the internet. And once you’re used to it, it actually feels good, too. Try it and let me know how you feel about it.

I’m excited about helping clients avoid social media marketing mistakes. Look for more posts on social media and how you can cash in this powerful, useful, and fun way to communicate your messages.

Until next time,
Nick

Nick Burns is an SEO web writer specializing in persuasive copywriting and content marketing. He provides clients a winning content strategy plus the special web writing to make it work. You can contact Nick here.